No more Guardian Angels
by Pikaskye
Summary: Two girls running from a terrible fate must work together with the Institute teens to save themselves... And the world. No one expected such a horrible secret they tried so hard to hide... But it was only a matter of time. Clace, Malec, Sizzy, OC! Old name: Saudade
1. Prologue

**Pika's back! This is my first Mortal Instruments story, taking place right after City of Glass. The Prologue's shorter than the usual chapters (Prologue- 1,400, chapters so far average- 2,000,) Hope you all like it! DISCLAIMER- I don't own the Mortal Instruments Series! Thank you FanFicLoverMe for being a great beta!**

* * *

The day sky was dark and filled with heavy grey clouds threatening to let pour over the expanse of thick, natural forest spreading as far as the eye could see. A long snake of black, a bumpy uneven road, bordered the edge of the woods, before, at the opposite side, dipping into a small, heavy-sloped valley. The gorge was steep, trees growing on the sides, gnarled roots hanging onto its walls like desperate fingers clutching to life, and at the bottom, there was water collecting, creating a small ravine, cutting the earth like a knife in butter.

The scene would have been boring if you had not seen the single black bus driving across the empty road. Despite its large amount of passengers, about 15, it was mostly silent. Most faces were peering out the windows, eyes searching the tree line nervously, and all of the people, male or female, were wearing black suits, thick stocky belts loaded with knifes and various other killing devices. The driver seemed to be nervous also, continuously adjusting his collar snugly.

Two girls, sitting closer to the front of the bus, were doing the exact same thing. The shorter one, a chocolate-eyed brunette was sitting closer to the window, while the strawberry blonde, a few inches taller than the other, was watching outdoors with narrowed, piercing sea-blue eyes. They were silent, lips pressed together and tensed, despite nothing but silence surrounding them. The low-hanging clouds didn't help the ominous scene, nor the howling winds or dark, creepy feeling that shivered down their spines. Beside was a taller, reddish-haired boy of the same age, watching the opposite window.

The brunette spoke up hesitantly, not liking the tension in the air at all. "H-Hey, L—?" The other girl silenced her, narrowing her eyes to outside.

She yanked the first girl out of the seat, stumbling onto her feet. "... DEMONS!" She screamed, seeing the incoming threat, just managing to get out a blade from her belt before the bus shook.

Almost like a cue, with an ear-shattering screech, the bus was thrown off the road, falling off to the ravine in a tumble. Inside the bus, limbs and luggage were thrown around, entrapped in the bus rolling down the valley.

For a moment, time seemed to stop. Luggage flew past in slow motion, people flailing around in the air, and the occasional dark shape passing by the window, it all slowed down to almost a stop; the blue-eyed girl could hear blood pounding in her ears and her fingertips tingling from adrenaline and suddenly, time started again.

The blonde was thrown around in the mess; and her head hit something hard; she must have blacked out for a few seconds, because everything went black before she was heavily aware of the turning on the bus again.

The girl slammed against the wall, shouting out in pain as she heard a sickening snap, then to be tossed over again and again, a tumble of bodies and luggage were pushed down a hill. She struggled to steady herself, ignoring the phantom burning sensation of her arm that she could barely lift. The bus did sideways summersaults before screeching to a halt on flat land on its side, at the bottom of the valley. Chillingly cold water spilled through the broken windows at their feet, soaking the luggage and their boots.

The girl cringed, holding her shoulder, teeth grit. She called out her partner's name, hearing demon's triumphant cries from above, picking herself off the ground and steadying herself with a sideways bench. Her partner answered back, struggling her way out from the rubble. Luckily, she was unhurt, but her eyes widened significantly when she saw the irregular bend in the other girl's arm.

"You need help." The brunette said urgently, getting out her stele.

"Not now!" She snapped back, hissing. "You're the most important one, you idiot!" The strawberry-haired person whopped the smaller girl over the head with her good arm.

"Hey!" She protested. "But, back to reality, how are we going to get out?" The blue-eyed girl looked up, seeing large, hawk-like demons soaring over the crashed bus. The glass had long broken, raining down at their feet. They knew that only the side of the bus covering them is what was protecting them all from the monsters above.

Slowly, more people stirred from the floor and looked up, instantly alert.

"Protecting her is our mission, above all else, don't let them get The Stone." One, who seemed to be the leader of the group, ordered, gesturing to the brunette.

"We're going to be heading out in K-formation, soldiers." The reddish-blonde called out. "That way." She pointed north, where the nearest escape route was. "Protect my partner at all costs. Or else."

"Yes Ma'am." The commanding aura from the girl was enough to make the many shadowhunters, disgruntled as they were from the crash, to listen.

"Good." Most managed to get their weapons as the bus was suddenly rocked back and forth again, and there was a startling shrieking noise from above. Everyone stilled, not daring to move. Gnarled talons hooked onto the roof, what appeared to be a giant, ugly metal vulture with beaky red eyes and sharp beak bent down, the roof completely tearing off.

Glass and shrapnel rained down. The taller girl shouted in the chaos. "RUN!" She reached into her belt, only to realize she'd dropped her weapon in the tumble. She looked around frantically before seeing a dark-metallic glint; she dived, dodging the snapping head, and pulling a single medium-length, slightly curved blade, shorter than a sword but longer than a dagger, off of the floor.

She spun around and slashed her blade through the air at the huge demon, complete with beady eyes and an extra dose of ugly, aiming at her and it shrieked. The sound coming from its throat was terrifying, like metal screeching when torn apart. The bird momentarily scared back, the girl took the open chance and smashed the window next to her with the hilt of her blade, scrambling through.

Another smaller metal-bird demon swooped in, sharp claws aimed for her head. If it wasn't for her skilled reflexes, the girl wouldn't have had enough time to lift her blade. The bird glanced off, luckily for her, but bouncing off her dislocated shoulder and then vaporizing to dust, leaving nothing but three long gashes into the girls arm. The girl's eyes prickled with the effort not to scream.

The air was filled with urgent shouts, high-pitched screeches, and the sounds of battle. Every figure wearing black was grouped up in groups of five or six, back to back fighting the ugly vultures off. The birds swooped into the kill, only to retreat with arrows or Heavenly Blades stuck in their metallic wings and bodies. The strawberry-blonde girl watched, terrified, _but she wouldn't admit that_, as one of their team mates were picked off by a vulture, thrown into the air, and eaten whole. "Stymphalian birds..." She said breathlessly.

Her parabatai climbed through the window after her, holding a circular _chakhram_. It was a blade shaped like a halo, with a thick leather handle and an extremely sharp edge. When a bird dived for her head, the brunette ducked, and sliced the demon in half.

"We have to run." The injured girl told her.

"But... the others..." Her eyes started to tear up.

"The demons will be distracted... I'm sorry." She hissed. "If we wait we'll be killed too and they will get The Stone. You know we can't let them." The brunette couldn't seem to believe it.

A red-haired shadowhunter, seeing the parabatai, shouted. "Run! We'll hold them off and catch up with you!" He sliced another demon with his _khopesh_, grinning triumphantly. The blonde frowned, wet-eyed.

This seemed to win the brunette over, albeit reluctantly, especially seeing her partner next to tears. She nodded sadly, salty tears gathering in the corners of her eyes; they stood up and started to run north, into the tree line and disappearing.

It began to rain.


	2. C1: The Newcomers

**Heyo! Augh, computer isses... Finally, here's chapter one of Saudade! **

* * *

"Jace!"

The demon lunged for the golden-haired boy's head, but he was already seconds in advance. He ducked, the ferocious, angry, what-seemed-to-be a black lion soaring over his head by mere centimeters. Jace pointed his blade upwards, slicing the cat in half.

The lion exploded in what seemed to be black goo, covering the handsome boy almost head to toe with slime. Clary giggled once the threat was erased, looking at the boy inspect his limbs for damage. "Hey, don't laugh." Jace said, with a bit of a chuckle, to the redheaded girl with emerald green eyes. She was short, dressed in a black ShadowHunter combat outfit. Clary only laughed harder.

He ran up to her, stashing his long blade in its sheath. He held out a gooey hand threateningly to her arm. She squealed and jumped back. He laughed, despite everything.

"Hey! You two lovebirds!" Izzy, from the next room, called. She came out from the doorway, tucking her electrum whip at her side. "You done?" Isabelle Lightwood, the tall, beautiful raven-haired ShadowHunter of The Institute came into the room, Alec, her brother, following her silently. Alec had dark hair also, but with piercing blue eyes.

She wrinkled her nose at Jace, hating any imperfections in clothing, and this was a mess. "I'm going to have to clean those, Jace!" She whacked the back of his head sternly, somehow not getting a drop of goop on it.

Jace stood proudly anyway. "But I'm still handsome as ever." He told her smugly. Izzy and Clary rolled their eyes.

"I think those are all the demons... There seems to be a lot of them lately." Alec pointed out. Unfortunately, they all nodded. Missions, that used to be three times a week at worst, were now next to every day. All seemed to be restless, just as much as the Institute ShadowHunters were, despite getting little sleep.

"They'll die down soon?" Clary suggested, trying to bring up the mood. They shrugged half-heartedly.

The golden-haired boy didn't like the sour mood. "Gosh, why is everyone so depressed? You're all around me, I should be a reason to celebrate, not mope." Jace commented.

"Not looking like that it isn't." Clary began walking out, Jace following along. "You need a bath."

"With you?" He suggested, a coy grin on his face. Clary's face turned into a tomato.

"No you pervert!" She yelled, ears burning. Izzy snickered.

He grinned. The only thing he loved more than his ego was Clary, and she loved him back just as much. Especially since they'd just discovered they weren't related not long ago and were able to show their love for each other in public, their bond had been stronger than ever. "Aww, why not?" He pouted, obviously faking it.

"I could give you a list of reasons if we weren't in front of them." The redhead jabbed her thumb to the other two people in the room, blushing furiously.

"If that's your logic then you can tell me when we're alone at the Institute." He smirked, emphasizing the 'alone'. Clary looked away, not wanting him to see the heavy blush on her face. He laughed, knowing he had won the verbal battle.

"I looove you." He told her, the underline being a cute apology. She smiled slightly, despite herself.

"I love you too."

"Stop being so sappy and call Luke, Clary." Izzy snapped at the two. Clary got out her cell phone.

After a few minutes of confirming and waiting, the four ShadowHunters climbed into the back of Luke's car. Clary, unfortunately, had to be squished up against Jace, as Izzy and Alec didn't want to get covered in black goop.

"Eww you're slimy!" She squealed. Jace chuckled.

"Now you have to take a bath." He laughed.

"It's like demon... snot! It's just nasty!"

"Actually, it's Demon essence... Magnus would probably want some." Alec reached over, getting a tube from his belt and collecting some of the slime into it. Clary wrinkled her nose.

"Why would you want 'Demon Essence'? It's gross," she asked.

"Magical properties." Alec said, stashing the tube in his belt before lifting his arm to support his head, staring out the window.

"Yeah, covered in the stuff can make you fly." Jace joked. Clary rolled her eyes.

Luke looked back at Jace. "By the way, you are aware you're cleaning my car of 'Demon Snot' after this?" He was plugging his own nose, his heightened senses not working out for him at that moment.

Jace frowned and slumped. "Yeah," then he perked. "Hey, Clary, can you make a cleaning Rune?" He asked.

"... I don't think that's possible, Jace. Sorry."

"It'll be good for him to get some dirt on his hands for once, Clary."

"Excuse me, but I am covered in filth right now. What do you call that?"

"... Touché."

"Someone better be cleaning my car."

* * *

Finally, Luke's car stopped in front of the Institute. Clary smiled, thanking the werewolf.

"Your welcome." He said gruffly. "Remember, you're cleaning my car tomorrow, Jace."

Jace frowned. "You were serious?"

"Yep." Luke waved at Clary before driving away. Jace watched the car woefully.

The four kids went inside the tall, dark building, passing under a gate with the Rune of Angelic Power on its door. The whole building was like a giant gothic cathedral, with towering stature. The gates were ordinate, a high arc with the symbol of Angelic Power written at the top.

Alec opened the door, frowning when he saw two shadowy figures waiting for them; the taller one sitting on the staircase, the other knelt in front.

"It looks better, the green should—" The smaller one was talking, but stopped at the sound of the Institute doors opening. They turned to look, eyes going wide and shining in the darkness, two pairs of blue and brown eyes wide like a deer's in headlights. As soon as seeing the group, the shorter figure stood up and ran up to the nearest person, who happened to be Alec, throwing her arms around his neck. He flipped the figure over expertly, making her yelp.

"OWWIE! What was that for?"

The girl, once in the light, was revealed to be a busty, shapely figure with large doe eyes and long brown hair. Her hair was in a high ponytail, bangs cut just over her eyes. They flashed with a bit of pain and accusation from being thrown onto the floor so roughly because of a friendly greeting. The girl wore a somewhat shredded combat outfit, black slim pants and a tight muscle shirt that fitted her curvy form nicely, if not for the tears in the fabric. Around her neck, the only splash of colour on her, was a silver necklace with a emerald-green stone implanted into the metal.

The other girl watched the group enter with cold, calculating cerulean eyes, sitting on the grand entry room's staircase. Her hair was cut short and straight, her bangs pinned to one side, coloured a nice strawberry-blonde colour. She was tall, a little under Isabelle's height, with a nimble, athletic body, obviously trained thoroughly. Her breast size was average. Around her waist was a thick, fully-stocked belt, plus a curved sword at her hip. Her clothes were shredded just as much as the first girl's; only, one sleeve was ripped completely off, exposing her right shoulder and a fresh Rune etched onto the skin.

Both girls seemed to be in their late teens. The girl on the floor stood up, rubbing her bottom. All the Institute teens were confused.

"Umm... Sorry?" Rarely was Alec at a loss for words. He seemed just as perplexed as the others were, staring at the girl on the floor.

"I'm Lyn Stormthrush. And this is Arianne Gladstone." Lyn, the taller strawberry-blonde explained, not even waiting for the question to be asked. She stood up, and attention was put on her. She didn't even flinch, looking over the group. "We're ShadowHunters of the Clave."

"... What are you doing here?" Clary asked, looking over their appearances.

"We were transferred by the Consul to the Manhattan Institute." The girl explained curtly, holding her arm but not making a big deal of it. "We're staying here for awhile." The teens blinked, slightly taken back by her straightforwardness. Jace snapped out of it first.

"Why are your clothes so shredded?" He asked, eyebrow cocked.

"A demon." Arianne told him. "A strong demon attacked us here. It's dead now."

Clary started, looking at the taller girl, "but her shoulder—"

"It's fine." Lyn retorted sharply. "Ari drew a Rune on it. It's completely fine." The redhead frowned.

"But I can make a better Rune, heal it automac—"

"It's completely fine, Clary Fray." She looked away, clearly in some pain but she ignored it.

Jace frowned at the girl's sourness but it quickly disappeared. "Well, for introductions— This is Clary, Isabelle, and Alec, I'm the totally wonderful, epic Jace." He grinned, pearly white teeth showing. Mind you, he was still covered in the black demon goo, making the usual 'drop dead gorgeous' male look a little more than funny.

"I know all about you, Jace." Arianne smiled coyly, then jumped. "You were on the cover of the Clave Magazine last month! There was a whole article on you!"

"What?" He blinked, his normal cocky demeanor shadowed by surprise. "An article? When did I give permission on that?" He quirked an eyebrow up.

Ari went back to her partner, scavenging through a bag at her side. Finally, she got a magazine, holding it out to Jace. He took it, inspecting the cover. On it was clearly the golden-haired ShadowHunter, posing on the cover of the shiny paper. He frowned, showing it to everyone. "What the hell?" He shouted. Clary took the magazine and scanned through the article.

She laughed. "Apparently you adore baby ducks," she told him, knowing that the fact wasn't true. Jace hissed, his eyes narrowed to slits.

"Hate the little yellow fluff balls, I would crush them under my foot in a second—" He went on a hushed duck-hating rant, going on ignored.

"He really hates ducks." Arianne blinked, pointing the fact out. They nodded and shrugged, indifferent.

Alec smiled tightly. "Well, I'll go set up the guest rooms, I guess..." He told them, clearly wanting to leave. Lyn watched him go, but the other girl was distracted by something, only now, about Izzy that made her eyes widen.

"No. Freakin. Way." She jumped, beam wide. "Is that. What I think it is?" She pointed to the raven-haired girl's plunging neckline shirt. "Those aren't even if stores yet! The designer brand long-sleeved lace t-shirt from the new Faerie line! Oh. My. Gosh. Where did you get that?" Arianne was wide-eyed, almost in shock.

Isabelle blinked, looking down. "... I have some friends around," she said, a little unsure by her approach.

"You wanna know what, you need to introduce me to these 'friends' of yours." Ari smiled, still amazed. Izzy looked over the shorter brunette, or more specifically, the shredded clothing.

At first, she seemed a little hesitant, unaccustomed to new girls in town. "You wanna know what..? Your clothes are shredded. You could probably borrow some of my clothes," she said.

Lyn barely glanced at her. "I have some of my own in my bag. I'll be good." She unzipped the bag. "Is there a bathroom somewhere around here?"

"Down that hallway, third to the left." Izzy pointed. "You're sure you'll be fine?"

"Yes."

Arianne jumped up, cutting the raven-haired girls attention away from Lyn. 'What's your room like? I'm sure it'll be really nice!" She said excitedly, almost bouncing.

Izzy smiled, despite herself. "It's just filled with clothes," she said honestly, both girls walking off into the hall leading to her room. Jace and Clary went to go take showers.

Lyn strode through the halls, finding the washroom, closing the door behind her, putting her hands on the edge of the sink and inspecting her face. Her eyes began to tear up, but she wiped them away, irritated, taking in long, deep breaths to steady herself. He was dead, they were all dead. She'd just have to put them behind her, like she always did. Unraveling her t-shirt up and over her head, she inspected her right shoulder in the mirror.

The Rune was black, and when she rubbed, it came off in little flakes. She noted the greenish lines spreading from the gash made there; without a second thought, she got a long-sleeved shirt from her bag and covered the wound up, taking in a few more steady breaths, putting on an indifferent face before going outside to find Alec.

She wouldn't let any emotion show, even if it killed her inside.


	3. C2: The Secret

**HERRO! Had a nice first-half of week and then a crappy second half, got this epic Doctor Who shirt and got to pin up my new posters (my room looks epic.) But then the second half all my friends were getting mad at each other and I was just hiding in a corner hoping no one would notice me. (And THAT'S why I hate school drama!) Here's Chapter two of Saudade!**

* * *

Lyn finally found Alec in a guest room on the far side of the Institute. Alec looked up as she came in, her leaning on the doorframe with her straight arm.  
"Is it okay if I sleep with Ari?" The strawberry-headed girl asked immediately, inspecting the room. It was a single-windowed, pale blue painted room, with two beds on either side of a small table. The covers were red, the beds medium sized, with plushy white pillows. She ignored the sting in her chest.

He blinked. "Like... in the same bed together?"

Lyn's eyebrows raised, and then her facial expression turned neutral again. "Ari is my _partner_ as a _ShadowHunter_," she told him, enunciating some words so he understood the point. "As I'd like to keep an _eye_ on my absent-minded companion, I would as if we could sleep in the same _room_."

"Sure." Alec shrugged, awkwardly patting the blankets a final time to show they were ready before standing straight. "The beds are all made, if you need anything, just ask one of us, okay?" He smiled slightly, averting his eyes.

"Yes. Thank you for hosting us." She inclined her head as recognition.

"The Clave sent you two anyway. It's our pleasure." He passed by her, avoiding her straight gaze and left. Lyn stretched her free arm, waiting a few seconds for the sound of his footsteps to fade, before going back to the left side of the room, depositing her own bag next to the bed on the left side and hissed when she lay down.

She closed her eyes, ignoring the pain and conserving her strength. She thought about the posion spreading through her body, remembering the notes particularly well.

_Stymphalian birds; quick, and usually about the size of a small human. Their skin is demonic metal, they're beaks are incredibly sharp and able to tear through pure steel with ease. Their talons are covered with acid, it's quite harmful, in severe cases causing death, to humans, but to shadowhunters with a strong will the poison isn't deadly, often looking much worse than it actually is. Most often, within two days the poison will fade._

A few minutes later, her half-sleep was disrupted by a knock and a voice. "Hello? Lyn?" She opened her eyes, rubbing away gunk that had begun to collect. _And she had just started to fall asleep..._

"Yes? Come in." Clary opened the door, poking her head inside the room.

"Hello." The redhead smiled slightly. "I was wondering how your arm was doing. Your parabatai is with Izzy, so—"

"It's fine." Lyn said, exhaling. "I just hurt it with that demon. Its claw slashed my shoulder."

Clary's eyebrows pressed together. "But you don't have any bandages on it, couldn't it get infected? Even if it has a Rune it'll only speed the healing process..."

"I suppose... but I can do them myself." Her shoulder ached, but Lyn didn't want for Clary to see the cuts, even if they hurt. _Because if someone else saw Ari would likely find out too..._

"No, no, let me help you!" Before Lyn could protest, Clary had left in search of bandages. The redhead went to the infirmary, got some wraps from the lowest shelf, stood straight and came back as quickly as she could. She slipped inside, closing the door behind her.

"Okay, let me see..." The redhead came back inside, coming towards the bed.

"Fray, it's fine. I am capable of doing it myself." Lyn's voice had more of an edge to it, like a warning. Clary was stubborn though and, gently but as quickly as she could, lifted the girls sleeve. Lyn looked away, eyes hardened and teeth clenched together. Even the slightest contact, like light fabric running against her skin, hurt.

"L-Lyn!"

The wound was spider webbed with green underneath the skin, sickly pus frothing in the corners of the slashes. The bright, sickly color spread almost to her shoulder blade, ending at the nape of the neck and collar bone. It had gotten much worse in the past twenty minutes alone. "Why didn't you tell anyone!"

"The Rune Ari wrote on it burned off. I didn't want her to fret." She said simply, a hard note in her voice.

"... I'll go get Jace, he'll know what to do." She ran off as quickly as she could, despite Lyn's protests.

By the time she got to his room, Jace was squeaky clean of all 'demon snot' and in his own clothing, minus the shirt, golden locks curled slightly from still being wet. He was sitting on the bed, ruffling his hair with a towel to rid himself of excess moisture, looking up as Clary knocked on the door urgently.

"It's me, Clary." She greeted from the other side. "I need you. Lyn has a—" Clary faltered. "... Let me show you. Are you dressed?" He opened the door, mischievous golden eyes searching through her emerald ones. "Yeah." He smirked, noting Clary stare at his bare abs for a moment or two before snapping out of it.

"Lyn's hurt, and I don't know what to do." Jace frowned at this, going inside to get a shirt. Clary backed up so he could pass, him sliding the clothing on, walking together to the far side of the Institute. "It's some sort of demon cut, it's green and looks like poison, and the Rune Arianne wrote on it chipped off..."

Jace opened the door to Lyn's room slowly and cautiously. The girl inside stared at him, her deep sea-coloured eyes watching his own warily, like a fox watching a larger predator and evaluating it. Her sleeve was still up, and Jace could see a vein of green from where he stood.

"Hey." He frowned, coming in. "Here for some help?"

"I don't need it." She replied back, sulking a little. "It isn't a deadly poison to ShadowHunters, I can bear it. I do not require voicing everyone of this predicament and alerting Ari of my minor injury."

Jace blinked, moving next to her and looking over her exposed shoulder. "Two things. First; Lighten up a little, would you? We're all friends here; you don't need to talk so... formally. Second; if this is a 'minor injury' then what's your definition of major?" He joked.

"Jace, she's hurt!" Clary frowned. "You shouldn't be joking around with a hurt person."

He sent a wink at her. "But the best cure to being depressed is laughter."

"And yet I didn't even smile at your comment, Lightwood." Lyn commented dryly.

"Little details, little details... But you said the Rune Arianne wrote on it came off?"

"Yes. It was a simple Healing Rune. While my dislocated arm was fixed, it only mildly slowed the poison." The strawberry blonde said, blue eyes pointedly looking at Jace's, visibly annoyed. Her arm was straight at least now, luckily. Even so, it hung limp at her side, her not wanting to move it in case the poison spread faster.

"Well, you shouldn't do everything by yourself, you know." Clary pointed out. "I'm pretty sure your partner wouldn't appreciate being kept in the dark about this."

Lyn looked away, lips tight, avoiding the question entirely. "Fray, Lightwood, are you absolutely determined to help me, and no matter what I say will not sway you?" She asked.

"Yep," came from both of them.

She sighed. "You must promise me though; you're not allowed to tell my partner of this. She would... freak." She thought and supposed it was a good word to sum it up.

Clary complied immediately. "Sure."

Jace, on the other hand, thought for a moment. He grinned coyly. "Sure, but you gotta loosen up. You're not allowed to talk like... a government official."

Lyn seemed taken back for a moment, and then her features screwed into a scowl, the first signs of emotion that she had shown so far to the Institute. Her eyes narrowed warningly. "Is this all a game to you, Jace Lightwood?" She snapped, looking like she was going to whip out the knife strapped to her thigh and point it at him. Luckily, she didn't.

"Nope." He replied, standing up and reaching into a cabinet for a small white box. He shuffled through the contents and fished out a tinted bottle with a brownish liquid inside. "We just want to be friends, and if you continue to talk so formally it'll be a lot harder." He explained. "See, the problem is I've had a lot of minor squabbles with the higher-ups and formal speaking only reminds me of that."

"So you're blackmailing me-" Lyn stated dully. "-because of your habit you want me to dumb it down?"

"... Essentially." He grinned, dabbing some of the liquid onto a cloth and pressing it to her wound. She hissed, pupils dilating to slits and she tensed.  
Lyn really didn't want her partner knowing of her shoulder, recognizing that Arianne wouldn't leave until the strawberry-haired girl was healed completely, and they couldn't afford that. Even as much as it annoyed her.

On the other hand, fair-haired bastards who thought they were gods annoyed her even more.

"... Fine then. I abide by your rules." She was annoyed, but she didn't move away from the hand he pressed against her shoulder blade. She remained submissively still, even if her words were sharper than before.

"Hmm? I didn't hear you." He corrected, waiting for her to say something. She rolled her eyes, scowling.

"... Whatever."

* * *

"That dress is just gorgeous."

Arianne gazed admiringly at the sweetheart neckline blue dress Isabelle was holding over her curvy body, seemingly falling in love with an inanimate object. Isabelle's room was filled with clothes, makeup, posters, and mirrors everywhere, a single large bed planted right in the middle against the wall.  
"Would you believe I got it only for four-hundred?" Izzy smirked when the brunette clapped, not that she would admit it, liking the attention that she got from the smaller girl.

"Amazing!" Both were already in fleece pyjamas, Arianne's borrowed from Izzy's closet, and were now comparing clothes with one another. Because of their massive height difference, Izzy had trouble at first finding comfy PJs that wouldn't bag at the ankles or cover her hands for the non-Institute shadowhunter. "It's sad that most of my wardrobe is in Idris..." the shorter girl pouted.

The black-haired girl looked over. "So you live back in Idris?" She inquired, hanging the cerulean dress back up.

"Yeah. Me and Lyn together with her parents." Arianne smiled tightly.

"Aren't you old enough to live on your own?" Izzy asked, eyebrows pressed together, noting her new friend's distress.

"Lyn won't say this out loud to anyone, but I'm not old enough to leave the house and she won't leave without me, even if she hates it there. She's a little older than me." She told the taller girl.

"Why?" Izzy put her full attention on Arianne. "Why does she hate it at your parents house?"

She bit her lip. "Well, it kinda started when I was young, I had no idea I had ShadowHunter blood in me from my Grandpa. He ran away from the Clave, got a son, then me. Well, one day a demon came to kill us for it. My own parents were killed, but Lyn's mom and dad were able to kill it just in time before it got me."

"So they adopted me and began to raise me as their own as a ShadowHunter. The problem was Lyn, the older one, was always pressured so that she could be the best. Her combat skills, knowledge, everything was, and still is, the best. But her— well, our," she corrected herself, "parents were always pushing her to be better... and... she doesn't like them much anymore." Arianne shrugged.

Izzy's delicate eyebrows were a little bit higher. "I see. So... that's why she's... um, distant?" The shorter girl nodded. "She needs a nice spa treatment." The raven-haired girl commented. Arianne giggled.

"Lyn's not one for that type of stuff," She laughed.

"Well, we'll make her!"

The shorter girl giggled. "She would snap your neck for trying." She joked. "Take her blade and 'Off with her head!'"

Izzy smirked. "No way could she defeat me in combat." She puffed out her chest proudly, only enunciating it.

"You should see Lyn. She's the best in her age for... well, everything."

"Psh, been there done that." The raven waved her hand. "What about yourself?"

Arianna smiled. "I'm pretty good! I use a chakhram in combat as my main weapon."

"Chakram, those are fun." Izzy commented, eyeing the green gem around Arianna's neck. "Hey, where did you get that? It is a beautiful piece."  
The green gem set in curls of silver metal was cleanly polished, the vivid emerald almost shining. It was connected to the girl with a thin silver chain, the whole piece crafted beautifully, clearly polished and pretty enough for a princess.

Arianna faltered a mere second. "It's my grandmothers." She replied.

"It is nice... and would go well with some of my outfits... could I borrow it sometime? I promise I won't lose it." Izzy inspected at the stone set inside it.

The girl stiffened. "Err... no, you see, i-it's kinda important to me, you know, dear old grandma, loved her a lot, and, her cookies were good... um..." she stuttered a bit, but Izzy got the point.

"Okay then." She smiled. "It's yours." The girl let out a sigh in relief, loosening up. Izzy wondered why it was so important to the other shadowhunter, but swept the thought away, instead turning to her wardrobe and asking Arianne what she was going to wear tomorrow.

* * *

**So, I do have to add a little note at the bottom here, I DO have the first few chapters typed up, and I DO love getting reviews. Seriously, your guy's cheers spur on my writing more than you guys would know, but if I don't get a lot of reviews for this story, I won't really bother typing the rest up. On the OTHER hand, for every review I'll reply to any questions, comments, or feedback in this section at the bottom. :) YAAY!**

**Allegiant76: Here's your update! The main characters are Lyn and Arianne, there's a little about their past in this chapter and definitely more coming! :D **

_**Rest, relax, and review!**_


	4. C3: The Mission

Arianne slipped into the room hours later, holding her emerald necklace tightly in her palm. She climbed into her bed, hearing a shift from the opposite side of the room.

"Sorry... did I wake you?" She asked quietly.

"It's fine." Lyn replied sleepily, wiping gunk from her eyes.

"No, you should go back to sleep..."

"Ari, it's fine. I wanted to talk to you about something anyway." The strawberry-blonde's eyes were watching her figure in the inky blackness, even if only the outline of darker colour that represented the other girl could be seen. "We can't tell anyone. We'll have to go as soon as we possibly can, before the demons catch up." The brunette knew what she was talking about; her eyebrow creased.

"Because... they will find us eventually..." Arianne replied, hugging a pillow to her chest.

Lyn continued. "Yes. It's unfortunate that our team died—"

Arianne blinked, cutting her off, voice sharp, even hushed. "Lyn! Your boyfriend was on this mission! Stop pretending to be so cold." She snapped quietly, obviously a little set off.

Lyn went frigid, not replying for a long few empty seconds. Arianne, through her highly trained senses, listened Lyn take a slightly deeper breath, steadying herself. "Remember what I said. Goodnight." She said curtly, shuffling away from the girl pointedly. Arianne sighed, getting into the covers of her own bed, lip coming out a bit in a pout.

"Goodnight, Lyn..." Her voice was softer. "...Sorry for snapping..." For a few seconds, Arianne could picture the silent, mental argument in Lyn's head debating if she would ignore her parabatai by pretending to be asleep or not.

"I apologize also... Goodnight, Ari."

* * *

_Not again..._

_She was hiding in the closet. It always started here._

_The little brunette was stashed away at the back of the closet, a knife held in her hand. It wasn't an ordinary knife though, it was transparent, and shone lightly, like glass. The wielder, a little girl barely aged five years old, with wide, terrified chocolate-coloured eyes and wearing a simple pink t-shirt and comfortable, loose jeans, was shaking, orbs filling up with tears as she choked back sobs._

_Downstairs, she could hear shrieking, shouting, and lots of crashing and banging. She got a mere glimpse of the creature as she was ushered upstairs, told to hide, wherever she could. Her parents remained downstairs, just as the beast crashed through the door, spraying wood splinters all over the living room._

_All the little girl got of it was a black, sinewy cat, like a panther, but with a large scorpion-like tail and goat hooves as its back legs. The creature's eyes were bright yellow, shining in the darkness, slit horizontally._

_ "__Grandpa said if there was ever trouble, take this." Her father had said, thrusting in her hands the knife. She didn't know how it would protect her, she was five, sure, but she wasn't dumb; a glass blade wouldn't be able to do anything against something as scary as that... _

_Grandpa was always senile, old, he was always telling her stories about demons and angels, creatures from other worlds that wanted to save or destroy humans, the ever-ending war between them. Her parent's always tried to drive her away from the fantasies, but the little brunette always found them fascinating. Grandpa passed away not long ago... even if he was crazy, the little brunette had never cried so hard._

_Through the cracks in the closet, she could see his favourite painting, hanging over her parents bed. It used to be his favourite thing, a large painted canvas with an angel, Grandpa always called him Raziel, holding out a cup and a sword, snowy-white wings spread out from his back, body shining like he was covered in the stuff in glo-sticks. Grandpa gave her a real funny look when she'd pointed that out. _

_There was the sound of screaming, a female, and the girl flinched, pulling away from the doors jerkily. That sounded like her mother. Tears splashed down her cheeks as her ears caught her father shouting, heavy footsteps thudding the ground before a sickening crunch and silence. Slowly, the girl heard a pleased rumble. _

_She covered her mouth with her hands, fighting back sobs. She knew something horrible had happened to her parents, her mind couldn't grasp it; terror filled her and she couldn't help a little whimper escape her._

_The purring stopped, and the girl froze. Slowly, the sound of padded footsteps echoed through the house. She heard it creeping through the lower floor, before padding up the creaky, old stairs father had always said he would fix, but she guessed it would be too late now— She grasped the hilt of the knife unknowingly, her limbs shaking from the pure terror that seemed to consume her._

_The sound creeped closer, the little girl hiding in the closet closed her eyes, in her head singing a lullaby her mother always sang her to sleep with, even if it was barely comforting. Despite making no more noise, her small limbs trembled horribly, counting down as the sound came ever closer—_

_ "__There it is!" She heard heavy boots thudding against the door, someone feminine shout, and another pair of footsteps. The creature snarled, the sound loud but it went away, leaping down the stairs and landing with a loud thud, roaring. The sound bellowed through the house, making the girl's ears ring. She opened her eyes hesitantly, hearing more shouts, yells, and snarls, before everything went quiet again._

_For a good few seconds, she heard nothing. She was so afraid that purring would be the first thing she heard, but voices finally spoke up. _

_ "__It got them." A man stated, voice unrecognizable to the girl. The tone was flat but held a bit of concern. _

_ "__Yeah... We were too late..."_

* * *

The dream shattered into a million fragments as there was a knock on Lyn and Arianne's door. Arianne bolted upright, mouth opened to scream before realizing where she was. She panted for a good few seconds, clutching her sheets like her life depended on it, pillows and blankets strewn around the bed on the floor.

The knock sounded again, and the girl got up shakily, limbs like jello. She tried to stop her trembling, but her legs and arms wouldn't allow it. The brunette opened the door, chocolate eyes tired. Isabelle stood there, dressed in her combat outfit, arms crossed across her large chest. A flash of electrum wire twinkled in her sleeves, the whip coiled around her wrist.

"We thought because there was two new shadowhunters here, you'd help us out a bit. There's some demons—" Arianne waved her off, too shaken to really focus or think of the consequences of slightly insulting the black-haired girl. She turned around, walking over to Lyn's bed.

The brunette gently rocked the girl."Lyn... Lyn! Wake up." She groaned before blinking, bolting upright with a blade in her hand. Arianne raised her forearm to block it easily, seemingly accustomed to the unnatural act of bringing a knife into bed from Lyn. The strawberry-blonde blinked, rubbing sleep from her eyes and looking at the clock beside her.

"... I swear to god, Ari, if you want someone to make you breakfast at six o'clock in the morning, I am going to—" her grumpy early-morning threat was cut off by the girl, who waved it aside.

"Demons. They want us to help." The brunette gestured to Isabelle, still waiting in the doorway. Lyn understood then, stretching her good arm and legs for a moment, and slipping out of bed, shaky on her feet before steadying herself.

"Hurry up!" Izzy replied hastily, tapping her foot.

The girls quickly changed into their dark combat outfits, replaced by Alec who was kind enough to leave a set almost perfectly sized to their bodies, luckily for them. Lyn changed in the bathroom, for some 'odd reason' that Arianne nor Isabelle inquired about. Soon, both girls were ready, following Izzy down the hallways to the entrance, where Jace, Clary, and Alec were waiting.

"There's two groups tonight." Alec explained immediately. "Two groups for two separate demon sightings. The plan was Jace, Clary, and Lyn, then Isabelle, myself, and Arianne." The girls, Lyn attaching her belt to her waist and Arianne twirling her chakram, upon hearing this, frowned.

"... Is it possible for us to be in a group together?"

"Aw, come'on, Lyn! Don't you want to watch me kick ass without your parabatai drooling over me?" The fair-haired Jace grinned, while Arianne, with a red face, shouted in protest, hitting him over the head with the flat edge of her weapon. He hardly even flinched.

Izzy began dragging Arianne out of the Institute, shouting "come on, slowpokes! We'll mark you in the taxi" with Alec tagging along. Arianne blinked and looked at the older parabatai; she inclined her head in the slightest, sighing. Clary noted Lyn bite her lip hard, whether to stop herself from talking or irritation, she didn't know, but how attached Lyn and Arianne were was... different.

Once the three were far enough on their way, Clary turned to the taller girl, who was staring at the place you could have last seen them before disappearing around the corner. "Hey, are you okay with your arm?" She asked, the early morning sun painting her fiery red hair alight.

"Fine." Lyn replied stiffly. "We better head our own way." Clary shrugged, noticing Jace starting to walk to Main Street, casting a long shadow on the pavement. The strawberry blonde followed behind, hands in her pockets ignoring the two.

"So what's the demon this time?" Clary asked Jace, holding his hand.

"Remember about two weeks ago when we got a call from the Consul, saying Demons were beginning to group around this side of the continent?" She nodded, not noticing Lyn listening behind them. "And we got that package for those giant powerful Sensors? We dug them into the ground and the Institute has been getting messages ever since."

The fair-haired boy blinked, looking behind him at the strawberry-haired girl. "But the Consul never mentioned you two, I just realized. ... wouldn't they have told us you two were coming on that phone call?"

Lyn dismissed it. "It was 11 days ago we got assigned to this post in call for the recent demon flocking. After the phone call. I'm sure it'll come eventually."

"Nice of them to tell us _after_ you guys get here." Jace replied. "Not that we don't mind guests, of course." Lyn's eyes flashed.

"No matter the circumstance, you're supposed to be prepared for unexpected guests." The taller girl replied smartly. Jace waved for a taxi.

"Well, I'm sure you two will fit right in... once you stop talking formally, again." He reminded, turning back to the conversation. She scowled.

"You're absolutely held up on this..."

"Yep. You remind me of the Inquisitor, she was... interesting."

"Seeing as you chose the adjective used to describe your grandmother carefully and I know what went on between you two, you're still unsure of your perception of her?" Lyn's voice was stony.

Jace scratched the back of his head. "... You could say that. I mean, she wasn't nice when she thought I was with Valentine—"

"No one would be."

"Yes, but..." he sighed. "Particularly nasty, to me. Then after, she jumped in front of a demon to protect me after... Women are difficult." He let out a breath again, running a hand through his hair. Clary, looking out to the early-morning traffic but still listening, hit Jace's arm lightly, scolding him.

Lyn snorted. "Don't expect me to save your _ass_ by jumping in front of you, Jace Lightwood. And besides that, I am not the Inquisitor. Don't even compare me to her, if you would."

Clary looked beside her. "Why?"

She paused, before laughing without mirth, bitterness settling into her tone. "The replacement for Inquisitor Herondale is my mother. Inquisitor Stormthrush."

"Oh... really?" Clary enquired. Lyn nodded, eyes watching the busy Manhattan traffic, looking away from the two ShadowHunters. Her arms were crossed against her chest, figure rigid.

"You don't like your mom?" Jace asked.

"No."

The redhead looked over, opening her mouth to speak. "But she raised you, didn't she? Or is it something mor—?"

"Beautiful day out, am I correct?" Lyn cut her words off like a knife cutting butter, blue eyes steely, not even trying to change the subject discreetly. Clary shut up.

* * *

**HERRO! How are you all! Finally posted this new chapter, once again my email account was giving me trouble and espiecially since it's the last week before exams this happens. SORRY for the late chapter, and here's your replies!**

**Mackeroni- Personally, I think Lyn is a lot more cold and calculated, and it's fun writing her and her sarcastic answers. YAY SARCASM! :D But of course, Ari is fun as a bubbly character too. They made an odd but complimenting partnership, don't they? (Well, most of the time!)**  
**Wow coolio- Here you go! One brand-new chappy RIGHT out of the oven!**  
**Kitty Katt- Personally, I wrote Lyn as a character who doesn't like human interaction that much, and it's SO fun writing her bare-tolerance of others. TEEHEE! Author's guilty pleasures. ;)**

_**Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my fanfic, so review maybe?**_


	5. C4: The Behemoth

**I doez notz ownz zee Mortalz Instrumentz. ;)**

* * *

.

Alec looked at the white trail left behind by Izzy's handiwork with a stele, bringing down his sleeve once he was sure the Marks were properly applied. Not that he doubted his sister's abilities, it just didn't hurt to be sure.

Isabelle watched him from the corner of her eye, but was used to his procedure, and quickly turned to Arianne. "Hey, you want me to Mark you?" She asked, holding up the stele. Arianne blinked, looking up from her fingers, which were laced up on her lap.

"U-Uh, yeah, sure." She lifted her sleeves, and Izzy quickly traced out the Runes for Power, Speed, Accuracy, and Strength on her arms, keeping them light. "They don't need to be that strong," the raven-haired girl told her.

Arianne nodded, seemingly distracted. "Yeah... whatever you say." Isabelle narrowed her eyes at her questioningly.

Then proceeded to whack the back of her head.

The brunette was snapped out of her stupor, whirring on the other shadowhunter girl. Alec scooted closer to his window. "What was that for?"

Isabelle sighed. "You were zoning out."

"No I wasn't." The brunette protested.

"Yes you were, Ari." She said, trying out the nickname. Arianne frowned.

"It's Arianne. _Just_ Arianne."

The raven-haired girl pointed out, "But I've heard Lyn call you 'Ari' before." She tucked a loose stand behind her ear.

"Only Lyn can call me 'Ari' though. Otherwise, I accept Arianne-Sensei!" She said joyfully. Izzy looked doubtful.

"Sensei is Japanese for 'teacher' ... You want me to call you Arianne-Teacher?"

"Yep. It's a respectful name." Arianne folded her fingers together, sticking her index's and middle's up in a 'ninja-like' pose, holding it up to her face. Izzy rolled her eyes.

The car came to a slow but bumpy stop as the taxi-driver stopped at the edge of town, looking outside the window doubtfully.

"Hey kids, you sure you wanna be dropped off here?" He asked. The three got out of the car.

"Yeah." Alec paid the driver with a handful of cash. It was down to the exact cent, so with a final 'stay safe,' the man left with his bright yellow car.

* * *

Isabelle and Arianne had their noses wrinkled, Alec remaining impassive. In front of them was a giant, five-foot in diameter hole burrowed deep into the ground, even barely concealed under the roots of a huge tree, deep claw marks carving its walls. Emitting from the den was the stench of rotting flesh, garbage, and decay. Even with Alec's witchlight held out in front of him, it was almost impossible to see down there, the darkness thick as tar.

"Definitely a demon's den." Isabelle straightened, waving her hand in front of her nose. "Anything that big that smells that bad must be a demon's."

Alec nodded, and Arianne replied with a "yep." The girl found a loose rock at the base of the burrow and chucked it in, listening. It seemed like the cave dipped at the end because they didn't hear clattering until a few seconds later.

"Who's going in first?" Alec asked.

Arianne smiled, completely forgetting her _other_ situation at the moment. "I'll go," then blinked. Cursing herself for her natural absentmindedness, she knew she couldn't turn back now and crept up to the hole warily. She expected for some demon of some sort to jump out at her; _but maybe it was sleeping, or deeper in_, she thought to herself. The emerald around her neck glowed softly, creating eerie and bizarre shadows on the rounded walls. She crept inside, unclipping her _chakhram_ from her belt, splitting it apart, now holding two razor-sharp semi-disks.

Air became sparser the lower they went. Arianne was so focused on listening and ignoring the creepiness of the place she didn't notice the drop in front of her until a hand fisted her shirt and ripped her back violently, nearly choking her.

She spun around, eyes narrowing to slits. "What the hell was that for?" She snapped.

Alec pointed. "You almost fell." Arianne turned around. Indeed, there was a pit, deep enough that her necklace couldn't pierce the darkness below. Izzy, who was in the back complaining everyone's butts were in her face, pushed herself through, so they were squished together in line.

Alec threw a loose stone. It whistled through the air for a very short amount of time before landing with a dull plop. The three frowned. "A pit with water?" Arianne questioned, smoothing her hair behind her ear.

"I guess. Someone's gotta jump down there. It's obviously a short leap." Izzy said.

"I'll go." Alec replied, shrugging. The girls stepped back as the dark-haired boy leapt for the ground, a circle of white witchlight surrounding him. Soon, he landed on his two feet with a yucky-sounding splat. He looked up, disgusted.

"It's not water..." At his feet with, now squished, milky-white spheres slightly tapered at the ends, seemingly covered with a thin film of mucus. They seemed to quiver at the disturbance Alec made, three or four eggs crushed under his feet.

"Momma won't be too happy about that..." Arianne commented, just as a loud bellow resonated through the two remaining jumped down, landing with a wet squish. They shuddered, quickly tiptoeing past mounds of quivering eggs before coming to a relatively clear area, leading to a deeper, darker tunnel, much wider and taller than the entrance. Echoing through was slithering, an absolutely disgusting noise that sent chills down necks.

The three raised their weapons, Izzy's electrum whip reflecting the witchlight, Alec notching an arrow, and Arianne holding her twin semi-disks in front of her.

A giant oblong-ish figure slowly made itself known, the slithering sound getting louder with it. "BEHEMOTH!" Alec shouted, pushing Izzy out of the way and shooting an arrow into the demon's rushing mouth.  
It was like a giant slug, seemingly made from the same mucus the eggs were. Along its sides were double-rowed serrated teeth. Arianne gaped for a moment before the slug charged for herself, leaving a slimy trail behind. The girl dodged and rolled, cutting through the layer of mucus and slicing the almost translucent skin underneath.

Before her eyes, goop filled the wounds and the cut healed. She blinked before bolting again as the demon ducked its nearly formless head to eat her. In reply, she sliced its head then ran away. The wound only healed again.  
While it was big, it was slow to turn itself, giving the kids time to prepare themselves. Izzy's whip flashed, Alec notched an arrow, and Arianne held her bladed semi-disks in front of her. "It heals itself." Arianne told them. "With the slime."

Izzy lashed out to test her theory, and yet again the wound slowly closed up.

"The Behemoth can heal itself multiple times." Alec stated, sounding like he was in focus, reciting a text. "Its slime is mildly poisonous to all but itself, in which it has self-regenerating properties. But it takes energy to do so."

"So we attack it so any times it tires?" The three jumped out of the way as the Behemoth charged, like a wild bull. Its charges were like one— a single straight line with a small curve at the end before being slow to turn.

"Yep."

Arianne met eyes with the demon and tensed. She'd tucked away her necklace inside her shirt but—

The Behemoth squealed loudly, like a realization, enough to make them wince. It charged at Arianna, red-hot with rage; she dove, only to realize the cave floor where she'd landed was covered in slime, and only ended limbs spread on the floor. The goop sizzled on her skin, making her hiss. _Mildly poisonous_, Alec had said.

"Arianne!" She flipped over to realize the demon was looming above her, mouth open wide. Her eyes widened; she grabbed her chakhram, linked the double semi-blades together, and threw it like a disk.

It hit, right between the eyes. The demon screeched, giving time for the brunette to scramble away, panting heavily, beside Alec and Izzy. The demon looked enraged, the circular blade falling to the cave floor.

"Are you okay?" Isabelle asked, looking over her skin. It was covered in reddish blotches where the slime had touched.

"Yeah. Fine." She wiped off the slime as best as she could by wiping it on her shirt as a temporary measure, watching the demon charge again. The wound on its forehead still wasn't quite healed; Alec sent a volley of arrows there, two or three hitting right on the blackish slash.

Izzy smiled sadistically, lashing out her whip, tangling around the demons head, and pulling hard. It slipped into its mouth, like a bridle, and Arianne could _hear_ the hiss of the electrum wire against demon skin.

She fumbled for her chakhram, frowning at the slime covering it; but cleaned it off with her boot before throwing it again, the blade whizzing through the air before impaling itself it the back of the neck. The demon shuddered, then began screaming. It began folding in on itself before disappearing completely, leaving nothing behind except slimy trails on the floor.

The silence felt deafening.

"What are we gonna do with the eggs?" Alec asked, uncomfortable now that the threat was gone. The eggs continued to pulsate, quivering softly in the dark.

Isabelle shrugged. "I am not touching them. We could blow up the place and hope it crushes them all before they hatch."

Arianne ran up to a cave wall, getting out her stele. She drew what seemed to be an upside-down 'Q', making the tag longer and the inside have a spiraling mark inside it. The lines burned like lit ashes before fading, becoming more like a dark, ashy trail. Her necklace lit up green so she could see her work.

"How long do we need?" She asked.

"To get out? ... Seven minutes." Alec replied hesitantly. Arianne drew a symbol that the other shadowhunters recognized at a 'seven' in angelic language beside the rune. She jumped around, stashing the stele away as the fiery trails written on the wall faded.

"Time to go!" She grabbed their wrists and began pulling them along, intent on their unknown destination.

"Eh... What did you do?" Alec stammered.

"That rune meant Explode!" She replied cheerily. "It's like a bomb, blows shit up. I didn't put too much power in it, so it should just blow up and not do too much damage." She thought for a moment, then nodded, continuing pulling them until they reached the wall where they jumped down from.

"Now who has a grappling hook?" She asked, looking up at the ledge, hands on her hips.

...

"You possibly trapped us in here and didn't know if we had a way out?"

* * *

**Heyo! I don't really have much to say, we're midway through exams and I'm lucky I have to time to post this. :) YAY! You cannot believe how tired I am right now, actually. Didn't get a WINK of sleep, and funny story of the day, forgot my geometry set at home for the math exam. I had to use the corner of a piece of paper to make a heptagon. (btw: I DID IT! took me a long time though.) ;D AND NOW- *drumroll* FOR THE REVIEW REPLIES!**

**Disney Fanatic Forever: *hands a gift box* What do you think's inside? *grins* Here's your chappy!**

**Review, or I'll dress you up in a duck suit and put you in a cage with Jace! -/-/- Jace: *eyes widen* NOOOOOOOOOOO!**

**DON'T MAKE JACE SAD! REVIEW!**


	6. C5: The Birds

**HERE'S TO SUMMER! Expect updates a LOT more frequently, not that I am OFF school! YAY!**

* * *

The plain was empty. The three finally arrived at their destination, just outside Manhattan, on the route to Long Island. It was nice and sunny, with long grass ticking their legs and tall trees towering over their tinier figures. A soft, almost unnoticeable breeze brushed the grass as it passed by, creating a ripple, like a tiny-peopled crowd.

"This was where they were last roosting." Jace commented, shading his eyes from the sun. Lyn glanced over at the word 'roosting'.

"Some sort of bird?" She replied, voice flat.

"Yep. Multiple different sized demon birds." He told her. "Like ducks, but with actual demon blood."

Clary looked at the sky, then inspected the trees. "If they're still here, they'll come for a snack of shadowhunters." She pointed out. Lyn couldn't agree more, already a sinking feeling settling in her chest.

"It won't be for a snack Clary, they'll obviously come to see the gorgeousness that is m—""

Piercing cries filled the air as the demons detected their prey, shooting up in the air and creating an ominous silvery cloud over the treetops. Whatever Jace was saying was cut off as the three teens raised their weapons. Clary glanced over at Lyn, holding a wicked pointed knife in her hand, similar to a machete. It was lightly curved, made with the typical transparent colour of an angelic blade, thin at the base, becoming thicker keeping its sharp edge, then closing as a feathered tip. Before she could ask though, the other girl cut her off.

"It's a _kampilan_. A medium blade effective for slashing and hacking. And those—" she gestured to the cluster in the air, "—are Stymphalian birds. They're hide is like metal, strong, so be careful." Clary noted that was probably the first comment she'd heard from the strawberry-haired girl mentioning their safety, but cleared the thought.

The teens watched as the flock flew ever closer, until it was upon them. The birds were like giant vultures, or hawks, some bizarre mix of the two made with plates of mismatched steel and bronze. With long wingspans easily six to seven feet and dangerously sharp bronze hooked talons, they were terrifying. Their eyes glittered like precious rubies, sparkling in the sun.

They hovered in the air, hissing. Lyn noted the flock wasn't near as big as it was before, from fifty to mere fifteen, at best. Still, she reminded herself, there were much more Shadowhunters there at the time...

That only reminded her of the deaths and she shook her head, clearing her mind. _Don't lose focus, Lyn. We're fighting, you can't have your head in the past. _She clenched her teeth.

The largest vulture unhinged its jaw in a single jerky motion; it seemed to be a little rusty, and let out a fearsome screech, like metal tearing, and the flock dived. The three moved, dodging the incoming rush but ended up separating.

Clary flung knife after knife at the eyes of birds that dared come close to her. The daggers flashed through the air, flicking off her fingertips and right into her targets, whether body, head, or wing. She managed to inch her way closer to Jace, standing back to back with him.

"Hey... how you doing?" she panted, dodging an incoming hawk with its talons outstretched, and in return slashed a dagger through its back. The bird crumbled in on itself, letting out a final mournful caw.

"Good good, just having a party with some demons." He replied, not even winded in the slightest. He still kept the shit-eating grin on his face, movements smooth and as silky as a fierce wildcat's.

_Plus, he looked great doing it_, Clary thought at the back of her mind.

"Shouldn't we go help Lyn?" The redhead glanced over, shaking the thoughts from her head; the girl was tussling with the largest demon from before, her blade meters away from her, abandoned on the ground. Her eyes widened.

* * *

Lyn slashed at any filthy stinking oversized seagull that aimed for her, taking delight in their dying screams.

_This was for Jacob, this was for Kass, this one's for Abigail, this was for Don— _she vowed revenge on every bird as she slashed, mentioning one name for every slash and kill she made. She was furious, her anger finally unable to contain itself behind the mask she was forced to wear for the sake of their mission.

She barely even noticed the high-pitched shriek, the demons, instead of attacking her one by one, beginning to spiral around her, creating an inescapable ring. The largest bird landed on the ground, opening its sharp beak, showing her tiny, razor sharp teeth and forked metal tongue. Lyn stopped herself before attacking it viciously; having a feeling it might have something to say. She didn't lower her blade though.

It took it awhile to make a coherent English sentence. "_Where... partner..?_" the demon hissed. Lyn narrowed her eyes.

"Like I'd tell you." She snapped back, lifting her _kampilan_ an inch higher. It seemed displeased.

"_... Give... ussss... ssstone... or you... die_." It replied back, voice rumbling. The effort of standing was much, obviously for the demon as it flapped its wings constantly trying to keep upright.

"I'd rather die than give either to you!" She took a knife tied to her thigh and threw it, visibly annoyed. The demon shuddered away from the blade heading for the space between its eyes, instead hitting the split of its left wing and body. It shrieked, jumping on Lyn in a frenzy. The bird was a little smaller than she was, but had a large wingspan and was _heavy_. Plus her arm, while healed, it was still horribly weak for her standards... tear pricked her eyes as her blade was knocked from her hand, landing in the grass away from her.

"_Give usss girllll... give us ssssttone.._." it screeched. Lyn grit her teeth when its talons dug into her thick leather belt. She didn't figure out if that_wasn't_ there, its talons would have dug into the flat of her stomach, creating a long, painful death for her.

Lyn growled, mustering the strength to push the demon off of her. It was thrown back, talons still clenched to her belt, but now—

She eyed her _kampilan_ and snatched it up off the ground, shifting it in her hand expertly before stabbing the alpha creature. It shrieked, writhing helplessly, folding in on itself before disappearing completely. She stood up, eyeing Clary and Jace fighting their way towards her.

"You okay?" The redhead asked over the tornado of birds surrounding her. Now, without an alpha, they were confused. The birds stopped spiralling and flew up to hover above them, the shadowhunters sensing uncertainty in their ranks.

"I'm fine." Without a leader, the demons returned to what demons were; bloodthirsty stupid killers. The birds shrieked before diving in a single cloud of razor-sharp claws and beaks, flashes of metal. Only seven remained.

"Split up, separate the birds. They'll be easy to kill now." Jace shouted. The three waited until the last moment before diving; the birds not fast enough crashed to the ground in a heap, the others spreading their wings for a sharp U-turn back up to the sky, then dipping again and soaring for the nearest tasty, walking snack.

Clary stabbed as many as she could, keeping an eye on her partners, even if she knew neither would need help. Both Jace and Lyn, despite having widely different fighting styles, were majorly experienced, more so than herself, but she held no resentment, of course. _They had been practicing this for years,_ she reminded herself, taking a knife and stabbing a demon's metallic wing. It shrieked, spiral-diving and crashing to the ground beside her.

She ducked under a talon, limbs feeling tired, but she had begun to feel excitement when it came to these demon fights instead of fear. Her burning arms were fueled on by adrenaline, she remained light on her feet, everything was sharp, in detail, her blood was roaring in her ears and every knife flung or slashed into a demon's body absolutely thrilled her. She could describe exactly how demon after demon soared at her, how the world became a spin of colours as she ducked and rolled, the feeling of grass tickling her ankles while she slashed and hacked away.

Damn, she was hanging around Jace _way_ too much.

The thought made her falter, fighting a small giggle, until a demon saw the opening and dove, right for her stomach. Clary's eyes widened and the breath was pushed out of her, landing on her back. She fumbled for a knife, but realized that it would be too late for its snapping head and instead, managed to push its screeching beak away, the metal warm under her fingers. It fought against her, so close to its prize, her flesh, flapping its wings and trying to unbalance her.

Clary managed to keep the demon away, but it latched onto her belt, refusing to go. While it was big, about the size of a small child, it looked as if it was trying to fly away with her, and its constant wing beats were throwing her off. She struggled to free herself, the metal beak snapping ever closer to her head. Her arms were growing tired keeping the inhumanly strong beast away, she grit her teeth, pulling her head away, eyes scrunched and ready for death—

The demon shrieked as a blade was thrust through its body, crumpling in on itself before disappearing without a trace. The redhead noted that it was silent; no demon screeches, wing flaps, human shouts, nothing but the natural sounds of insects chirping and a light breeze passing through the plain.

She felt almost dizzy. Her heart was still pounding, her breath was unsteady, she couldn't seem to catch it again. The redhead laid her head back, looking up at the sky. It would be a nice thing to draw, Clary thought dully, heart pounding in her ears. Soft pastel blues, the curling lines of fluffy white clouds, maybe a few yellow sunbeam lines spreading across the paper—

A blonde-haired head, grinning widely...

"Earth to Clary, Earth to Clary." Jace smiled coyly. "You alright?"

She let out a breath and took his extended hand. "Yeah, I'm fine." Lyn stood a distance away, cleaning her _kampilan_ of demon blood with the heel of her boot, wrinkling her nose in disgust. The ground sizzled when the black ichor hit the floor.

"That's good. You were out of it for a second. Thought you'd hit your head to hard." Clary scowled and hit his arm lightly, thought not because she didn't want to hurt him, even her strongest punch from her small fists wouldn't hurt the male shadowhunter, she knew, but more because she was too winded to conjure up the energy. He kissed her nose. "I'm glad you're okay." He said sweetly.

"You too." She replied tiredly. He chuckled before ruffling her hair lightly. She yelped weakly in indignation, moving out of reach. Only, he unexpectedly wrapped his arms around her, Clary unable to muster more than a light squirm to protest.

"Are you two done yet?" Lyn asked, looking a little less sharp-eyed than usual. Actually, they looked quite... mellow, Jace thought, and since he was pretty good at analyzing feelings, he was pretty sure he was right, _like someone who hadn't gotten a lot of sleep or was worrying profusely._

"Yeah yeah." Jace rolled his eyes before pulling away with a final tap on the redhead's hair. She smiled at him. "Time to go home?"

Lyn looked out to the tree line where the birds had come from, blinking away the glare. Finally, she sighed, tuning back to the other shadowhunters. "I suppose."

* * *

**HELLO WORLD! What's up with you all! Here is celebratory-end-of-summer Chapter FIVE of Saudade! *cheering in background* We're getting to the main plot soon... actually, VERY soon ...*fufufu* I have a feeling something BAD is going to happen soon...**

**Disney-fanatic-forever: :D *hugs* Thank you! Here's your chapter 5!**

**REVIEW! :D**


	7. C6: The Attack

**EXTRA LONG CHAPPY! :D**

* * *

The kids, once done their mission, met up at Taki's, the supernatural restaurant where the Institute teens normally hung out. Alec, Izzy, and Arianne's group came in first, the raven-haired girl greeting the Ifrit security man at the front with a kind smile, Alec and Arianne following behind. The tall, red-skinned man nodded back as a greeting, opening the door with large, sharp-nailed claws.

The three sat down, Arianne and Alec on one side, Izzy on the other, oddly quiet until the next three came in, Lyn walking in first, searching through the undistinguishable people until she saw her _parabatai_, Jace and Clary hand in hand behind.

Lyn slipped into the chair on the other side of the brunette, while the couple sat on Isabelle's side. Kaelie, the Faerie waitress, came by to take their order, sending a barely noticeable glare at Jace. Ever since she'd found out him and Clary were practically glued together at the seams, she'd been quite bitter to him, even if she didn't show it much on her waitress duties.

Much, anyway. Once Jace nearly ate raw meat served from a certain jealous waitress, until Alec pointed it out.

The regulars ordered their usual, while Lyn was quick to order. "I'd like a... faerie fruit salad, please!" Arianne told the waitress. The others looked at her skeptically. Her partner sighed, running a hand down her face.

"Ari... You can't eat faerie food." She explained slowly, like talking to a child.

"Why not? It sounds good," she lifted the menu to show the blonde her choice of food, but the knife-using shadowhunter gently pushed it down.

Jace bumped into the conversation. "You wanna be running around a police station naked firing shots into the air for an hour or two?"

Arianne slumped, computing the information. "Fu-innneee... I'll have the chicken wings." Kaelie frowned, like the change was a put-down to her, but scribbled it down before taking the menus and left, her gossamer wings fluttering behind.

"So, how was your mission?" Clary asked Isabelle.

"Not bad. Arianne nearly got us killed." Izzy's dark eyes shot her a look. The brunette scratched the back of her neck, and Lyn raised an eyebrow at her partner, orbs narrowed questioningly.

"... Not my fault we didn't have a grappling hook! And we got out anyway, that's all that mattered..." She sulked.

Clary waved her hands in front of her face. "Whoa whoa whoa, slow down. Explain to us from the start." The three explained the Behemoth and eggs, how they finally defeated the self-regenerating demon with their combined effort. Then Arianne's plan to blow up the den, but as their escape route blocked by lack of grappling hook, and finally getting up by hauling each other over and scaling the wall. The den blew shortly after they escaped.

By the end, both Izzy and Alec were staring at Arianne. She giggled awkwardly and took great interest on her plate as Kaelie came in with their food stacked precariously on her arms, gracefully placing them down on the table. Jace's, on the other hand, landed with a unceremonious bang, even if nothing spilled.

"What about you guys?" Arianne asked, changing the subject fast to get her parabatai's glare off of her. Lyn had the '_as-soon-as-we-find-each-other-alone,-I'm-going-to-kill-you_' look on her face.

"It went great," Jace started.

"Yeah, some metal birds attacked," Clary looked at Lyn, "what were they called again?" she asked, the answer on the tip of her tongue but she forgot it at the moment, looking at the elder shadowhunter girl for answers.

Lyn looked over. "Stymphalian demons. That's what they were called." The redhead and blonde eagerly started explaining their story to Isabelle and Alec, only Lyn gave a pointed look to Arianne before beginning to pick at her own food. It was good, she guessed, but she didn't really have an appetite.

"And yeah. That's how our side went." Jace finished, taking a sip of his smoothie. He wrinkled his nose at the taste, looking into the glass.

"Something wrong?" Clary asked, looking over.

Jace blinked. "No, but—" he stopped suddenly. The five others stared at him as he stood up, head whipping around like he was searching for something.

"I-I gotta go." He said, and ran out of Taki's, the little bell jingling when the door opened. Clary, Izzy, and Alec stood up first following him, with the two new shadowhunters getting up also.

Kaelie, watching the scene from the back room, giggled.

Clary's eyes widened as Jace, in the afternoon daylight, took off his shirt and was now in the process of zipping his fly down. The street was quite busy, filled with people leaning back to see what the golden-haired boy was doing. Alec moved forwards, knocking his hands away.

"Jace!" He hissed, embarrassed at his _parabatai_. "What in Raziel's name are you doing?"

"Taking a shower," he replied, eyebrow cocked. "And what are you doing in the bathroom?" Alec stared for a few long moments.

"Jace, you're in the middle of Manhattan. On the road. Where people can see you." He insisted.

Jace laughed. "_Riight_. And I'm supposed to believe that there are people watching too?" He started zipping his fly down again. Alec took his arm and tugged, trying to get his hand away from his pants.

"Actually, there are." Alec's cheeks were painted red, noticing a pair of girls watching the fair-haired boy from across the road, taking snapshots with a cellphone. Finally he grabbed the blonde's arm and started pulling him along. Jace pulled away, seriously weirded out now.

Izzy joined the two. "What is with everyone coming into the bathroom without knocking," Jace said to the air, exasperated. "It's rude, and I'm trying to take a shower without people staring at my glorious naked body."

Izzy hit him over the head, hard. "You idiot." She snapped. Jace rubbed the impact point, wincing. "You're right in front of Taki's, taking off your clothes in afternoon traffic." The blonde snorted.

"This again—" He didn't finish his statement because with a nod of her head, Alec started wrestling Jace to the ground. Taken by surprise, Jace fell, but only for a few seconds before rolling onto his feet again, growling, facing Alec.

Clary winced. "Jace—!" Her warning cut short to the boy's deaf ears, Izzy darted up behind him, kicking his knees out from underneath him. Alec finally wrapped the other shadowhunter teen's wrists together with wire, wrapped many times around with a skilled tie and knot. Jace spat profanities at them all, except pretty much Clary. He was clear-headed enough not to insult her, at least.

The redhead sighed. "What do we do now? With Jace?"

Izzy looked down at Alec struggling to keep the active Jace down. "Wait until whatever caused him to act this way to get out of his system. ... Could you..?"

"Yeah." Clary bent down to Jace's level, telling Alec to stop struggling with him. The hallucinating shadowhunter looked up, teeth grit together.

"Can a man take a shower in peace without being jumped and tied up on the floor?" He asked, eyes soft once he saw her. Clary sighed, wiping off some pebbles imprinted in his cheek.

"Jace, just trust me, you really are in the middle of Manhattan. You were about to get undressed in front of everyone." The teen paled, eyes darting around like he finally saw where he was in Reality.

He swore. "... Really?"

Clary nodded and the boy groaned.

"That's it, the Angel officially hates me."

* * *

Jace was tied up to a chair as the four Institute kids sat in front of the TV. None were really interested in the show, but had nothing better to do and, either way, listening to Jace while stuck in single spot unable to move was much more amusing than an infomercial about some new product nobody cared about.

_"__Lone-lyyyyy, I am so lone-lyyyy, I have no-boddyyyy... foorr my OOOOOO-oooWN—_"

"We're right here, would you shut up?" Izzy snapped. Clary giggled.

"I find it kinda cute." The redhead commented, ignoring Jace, who was getting into a new song.

"_Yo listen up, here's a story, about a little guy who lives. in. a blue world, and all day and all night—_"

"I swear to the Angel I am going to kill him if he doesn't stop singing." The raven-haired teen growled threateningly.

"I'm not singing," Jace intervened. "I'm rapping." The girl rumbled in annoyance.

"How can you stand this brat?" She asked to Clary, simply not getting the concept of anyone dating her brother, even if he was undeniably sexy.

"... He's... unique. In a good way."

Jace winked. "Just how you like it, baby." Clary flushed at the words, hitting him over the head. Suddenly, the four heard a loud shouting noise over the sounds of the TV. Alec paused it, and they listened intently, but it didn't arise again. With a shrug, they continued with their conversation.

* * *

"ARIANNE!"

Lyn was furious, holding up the brunette's arms in a sumo-death grip, eyes flashing like a light-up children's toy. Arianne cringed, looking over the reddish blotches over her arms and parts of her legs. "... Y-Yes?" She asked timidly, inching away from Lyn's fiery gaze. The strawberry-blonde grabbed the back of Arianne's shirt, pulling her closer.

"What are these?" Lyn snapped, poking a part of the brunette's limb.

"Behemoth slime rashes... before you say anything, it was a mistake, I slipped!" Lyn's eyes narrowed, but she sighed and turned away, releasing her grip. Arianne sighed, flexing her arm. It had fallen asleep from lack of circulation.

"You know we have stuff to do and this will not help us anymore." Lyn whipped out her stele, drawing a quick Healing Rune; Arianne sighed in relief as the itchy feeling faded away. "We're likely going to be called for another mission and—"

"It's not like I don't know that..." Arianne sulked, staring at the floor for a few long silent seconds. "We should go tonight."

Lyn stared, unexpected at her partner's sudden exclamation. It was usually her who made the plans. "What?"

Arianne clenched her fists together. "Tonight. You and I go to their armory, tak—"

The blonde waved her hands in front of her face. "Yes, of course I know what you're speaking of, but _tonight_? What makes it so special?"

"We've had long enough waiting for this mission. We should be in the clear, nobody knows where we are, and the longer we stay here the bigger risk we have of these Institute kids figuring out who we are." She didn't like calling them the title, but putting her newfound friendship away was a necessity... maybe when this all blew over, they would be able to visit again... Not that they'd be forgiven.

Lyn blew a few loose bangs from her face, thinking. "This isn't something to take lightly." The brunette nodded. "We leave too early, the demons will get us. We leave too late, the Institute kids will find out who we are... or rather, our task. And the risk of us getting a critical injury on a mission. It's not uncommon."

Arianne slumped. "This is impossible... I don't mean like we're stumped, the chances of us getting to Idris safely..."

Lyn's eyes turned soft like marshmallows. "We were half way across the country with twenty people. We need to go four times that, land and sea, with only two." She sighed, tears blurring her eyes. "Why did they give us a job like this? We're just teenagers, one of us isn't even of age!"

"Your mom wanted you on the mission, and I wouldn't let you go alone." Arianne reminded her, albeit sadly. "I accepted the Stone."

"And we're lucky we got away, but we're trapped in here until we either run out and hope for the best, or stay in here and they'll come for us. We can't let them have the Stone."

"I know that."

"I know you know. I'm just—" Lyn said a swear word, obviously frustrated, "—ing complaining. If we get out of this alive and in singular pieces, I say we deserve a vacation. I honestly don't care about the rules right now."

Arianne laughed, fingering the pendant around her neck. "Sounds good."

Because hope was all they had, Arianne thought. And each other. No one else they could depend on. It felt like the _parabatai_ against the world, but giving into the misery of their situation wouldn't help at all. _We had to keep our heads high._

* * *

Some minutes later, the kids in the living room heard a pressing knock at the doors. Izzy, upset with Jace's singing, stormed off to open it, seeing Simon. Her expression softened, barely noticeable, before realizing his state. Despite not being able, or rather, not needing, to breathe, the chocolate-haired vampire looked paler than normal and grabbed Izzy's shoulders urgently.

"Things— flying through the air— came here fast as possible—" Just then, something big and black broke over the roofs of the buildings across the street, making Izzy do a double take.

"Come in, come in." She rushed him inside, locking the door behind. "We need to get the others."

Something covered up the stained glass window outside, making the main hall of the Institute go dark. The black haired shadowhunter inspected the dark demons, not being able to see much through the coloured sheets.

She paled, "Not possible..." and ran. Simon stared for a few more moments and realized she was no longer beside him, looking back and chasing after the girl.

"What's wrong?" He asked, keeping pace easily.

She sent a glance at him. "Moloch demons. They shouldn't be here."

He frowned. "Why not?"

She spun, locking another set of double doors behind, where Clary, Alec, and the tied-up Jace were. "With the small Moloch demons comes the Mama Moloch demon..."

Jace raised an eyebrow, still stuck to the chair. "What's your problem?"

"Demons." Just then, there was the sound of shattering glass and the sound of wind rushing into the Institute. Black smoke poured from underneath the doors, Izzy and Simon backing away from it and Alec trying to cut Jace's ties with his sword, eventually just dragging the boy to the far side of the room, cursing under his breath.

"_Where... Stone.._?" The haunting wind seemed to whisper. The black cloud took forms; like bleak, grey skulls hovering in the air a little shorter than the average-sized human.

"Where's the Moloch demon?" Jace asked, glancing as Isabelle. Alec finally managed to pry him free, and Jace stood up, taking his weapon.

"Wait..." Simon looked confused. "If these are Moloch demons, why are you asking where the Moloches are?"

Jace scowled. "These are Moloches. Smaller demons. The Moloch is a Greater demon, and these are its pets." The heavily, musky smell of death and rotting bodies filled the air as the floating skulls inched forwards, mouths jarring open to repeat the question again.

"_Where... Stone..?_"

The golden-haired boy wielded his sword expertly. "There's plenty outside, if you want."

The demons didn't seem amused.

"_Give... us... Stoonneeeee_..." They moaned simultaneously, filling up the room and eventually diving in for the shadowhunters and vampire.

"Aim for the skulls!" Alec cried, shooting an arrow right in between the eyes of one. The smoke around the floating head seemed to dissipate, but the numbers were horribly unmatched as each person in the room was pushed against the wall by six or seven demons at a time.

"Jace, wasn't that bird—" Clary shouted over the chaos, coming to a realization. "asking about a stone before?" She was moving defensively, slashing at any skull who came too close, but her ground was weakening. Clary wasn't horrible with her weapon, but she simply wasn't ready for this brutal attack.

"Good point, but where are the other two?" He slashed right through a head, then quickly leaped back as another skull made a lunge for him. Their smoky figures seemed to glide over the ground like water.

With a grunt, reaching into his belt, he uncorked a vial and tossed the clear liquid at the hoard in front of him. They hissed in pain as the holy water splashed on their faces, letting out screeches as the sanctity of it caused their skulls to crumble and crack.

"They were in the guest room, last I saw—"

Then Lyn and Arianne burst into the room, hearing the chaos. Both seemed to pale as they reached for their weapons.

And the ground started to shake.

* * *

**Here we go, chapter 6! And here's where parts begin to get... interesting... hehehe... **

**.Did I ever tell you how I get chapter ideas? Little plot bunnies that like to feed on reviews. They help me a lot, FEED THE BUNNIES AND REVIEW!** **Have a great day!**


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